Cobrathrall

ATTENTIVE • ADAPTABLE • CHARISMATIC • PRIVATE • FABULISTIC • BLUNT • HARSH • MORALLY-GREY • CRUDE

[ ATTENTIVE ] One of the things an ambassador needs is a keen sense of what's going on in the world around them. Thrall has been known to go entirely silent on patrols, simply watching and observing the world around him. He likes to perform warrior duties at times to get a sense of what they're experiencing and take note of the conditions of the jungle-- what areas are getting the most rain, what types of prey are most abundant, movements of predators and so on. Knowing such things makes him more able to perform his duties as an envoy to the larger felines they share a forest with.

[ ADAPTABLE ] Cobrathrall has learned that when negotiating with big cats, each species tends to have their own set of morals, values, and traits that they respect. He has figured out how to change his speech and demeanor to become a social chameleon of sorts, shifting around what he sees fit in order to reach a compromise or goal. Some cats find this trait dishonest, but in Thrall's opinion: "That's business, baby." His main goal is to compromise and find a way to get OneClan on top of things so they can have easier lives. If he has to do a bit of acting to get there, then so be it. Others can deal with it.

[ CHARISMATIC ] Cobrathrall is known to be easy to get into a conversation with and has the sort of energy that draws people to him. He has a generally friendly demeanor and terrific storytelling skills that make him a bit of an entertainer within the clan. He often steps up to encourage groups to do better and inspire courage in the warriors. He expresses that a happy clan is a working clan, and if it takes a hype-man to get them there, he'll holler from the treetops until everyone is thoroughly galvanized.

[ PRIVATE ] Despite his outgoing nature, Thrall is surprisingly private about his true thoughts and feelings. When asked, he'll usually give a surface-level answer to most things-- just enough to appease others. In truth, he often puts on an act to inspire and encourage his clanmates. The way he sees it, it's his duty to keep the clan motivated and hopeful, even if his own beliefs and feelings don't exactly align with the things he says. He likes to spend some time alone in the canopies of the jungle, relaxing and recharging after conversing and acting all day. He likes to keep his activities to himself-- not because he's up to anything nefarious, he just likes his privacy.

[ FABULISTIC ] Thrall loves to make shit up. Encouragements, stories, boogeymen-- anything he can bullshit, he loves to do it. Not out of malice, mind you, but he just finds it fun. Cobrathrall loves to spin a good tale to live up to his name and enthrall his fellows with stories of wildlife, negotiations, heroes, and so on. Despite his reluctance to deal with kits, it's never a shock to see him regaling the little ones with fables and legends about monsters on the jungle floor, flying purple kitty-eaters or some outlandish tale only a kitten would believe. Sometimes, it seems like he makes up stories more for his own entertainment than anyone else's.

[ BLUNT ] Despite being a storyteller, when it gets down to brass tacks, Thrall is going to keep things short, sweet, and honest. He doesn't like to pad things out for the comfort of others when he takes issue with them or their performance-- he's going to tell it like it is. While occasionally hurtful, it makes him an effective communicator in that he doesn't beat around the bush. He prefers brutal honesty than soft-- he's found that being too gentle might not get a clear message across and leave more room for error or further mess-ups. Get it done the first time so more painful conversations don't have to be had later, ya dig?

[ HARSH ] In a similar vein to the previous trait, Thrall has little patience for other people's stupid bullshit and won't sugar-coat things when he has a problem. His own mentor never took it easy on him when he was in training-- after all, the job of a diplomat is to not fuck up. He tends to be unforgiving when it comes to oversights or lapses in judgment and can be incredibly snide toward those who have been branded dishonored by the clan. Things he percieves as traits or behaviors that he thinks will cause unrest or discouragement will be called out by him. He won't tolerate anything that he thinks may put the clan in danger. Additionally, he can be very callous toward outsiders. Anyone who isn't part of OneClan can deal with their own shit themselves.

[ MORALLY-GREY ] Thrall puts his clan first and everything else last. While his care for his clan is admirable, the fact that he cares little about the fates of outsiders makes him unempathetic and sometimes cruel. He subscribes hard to the "if you're not with us, you're against us" mentality and is unlikely to help outsiders unless there may be some kind of benefit to OneClan. He's willing to lie, cheat, or steal from those who don't belong to the clan as long as what he considers the pros outweigh the cons. He won't go out of his way to help strangers who are in danger and is willing to protect the clan's hunting grounds by lying to outsiders about where food is abundant.

[ CRUDE ] Thrall is a fan of crude, morbid humor and doesn't usually censor himself. Many times he's made a joke about entrails or being eaten alive in front of the kits, only silenced by the scathing glare of a queen (though he has to bite back laughter despite himself). He also finds himself morbidly fascinated by the grosser habits of the jungle's residents and is willing to share the strange and sometimes disgusting things he's witnessed, loudly, to those around him. Some find this trait of his unpleasant and unbefitting of someone of his station. He doesn't seem to care much about this criticism, though. While he may apologize now, you can be sure he'll be back at it again tomorrow as though a scolding never happened.

PRE-BIRTH

18 D.H.

HazeClan was dying.

No matter what Splinterstar did, the Harbinger took and took. Cats went missing, territory was consumed, and the clan was starving. Splinterstar, though a good leader, was losing his grip on his fellows. His competency was questioned and there came a point where cats had to choose between clan loyalty and survival.

Thorncatch and Falconcrest, once dedicated warriors of HazeClan, left in the dead of night. The Harbinger lurked on the horizon and their skin clung tight to their ribs. They knew that if they stayed with the clan of their birth, they would surely die. Any future they may have had together would die with them and their clan.

The pair sought out the allied OneClan. They'd heard rumors of other former HazeClan cats defecting to join the unified group and they decided it would be their best cance at survival. After all, the territory was becoming more and more unfamiliar as the Harbinger took what they knew away from them.

They lived in the jungle together for a time, barely scraping by on what prey they were able to hunt down and the unsecure shelter of the forest. After sleepless nights and run-ins with predators, the pair finally found their destination: the great banyan tree where the new clan had made their camp.

Settling in was difficult with a mixture of friendly faces and the presence of theirformer rivals. Tensions were high as cats from different clans mixed, but the clan made it work. Together, the two cats watched the clan grow as HazeClan joined them months later, leadership changed, and the Watcher came and went.

KITHOOD

34 D.H.

At long last, it was time to start a family. The clan's status wasn't perfect, but now more than ever seemed like the best time to finally have kits like they'd wanted to for so long. A litter of two was born: Cobrakit and Mambakit, two healthy toms who their parents adored.

Throughout their kithood, Thorncatch and Falconcrest instilled in the kits that survival came before all else. Clan loyalty was important of course, but leaders were not infalliable and when too many cats died due to an incompetent leader's choices, sometimes you had to look out for yourself and do what you needed to survive. Cobrakit took these lessons and stories to heart, deciding that when he grew up he would do everything he could to keep the clan safe and happy, and never bow to a leader who hurt more than helped.

APPRENTICESHIP

40 D.H.

Cobrakit was assigned to Dholetooth to begin training as a warrior. He took to his duties with great enthusiasm, excited to take on the world and serve his clan. Cobrapaw took great interest in seeing the jungle beyond the banyan tree, learning about the different animals he'd heard so much about in the nursery. Right off the bat he showed himself to be a charismatic and inquisitive apprentice, taking to lessons quickly, making friends, and listening in to lessons that he wasn't involved in yet. Noticably, however, Cobrapaw made a habit of harassing the Watcher, Vulturedash and Littleleaf as the senior warriors were trained as Ambassadors.

It seemed that Cobrapaw was far more interested in listening in to the Watcher's lessons than anything Dholetooth had to offer him. When a month had passed after the Ambassador's appointment, Cobrapaw was reassigned to Vulturedash as one of the first young Ambassador's apprentices.

Cobrapaw took to training as an Ambassador like a duck to water. His youth allowed him to pick up the language of the big cats easier than either of the adults had, and he was eager to absorb the lessons Vulturedash presented to him.

His graduation assessment was no easy task; a small pride of lionesses had begun hunting within OneClan's territory, causing the clan's problems with food to grow more severe. Vulturedash and Cobrapaw were dispatched to deal with the threat, though Cobrapaw was to head this negotiation as a test of his readiness to graduate. Cobrapaw knew that the lionesses of this jungle seldom lived with males and the dames typically raised their young together rather than with fathers. Knowing that lions were prideful creatures, Cobrapaw treated the lionesses with the utmost respect, scattering praise or admiration into his dialogue to keep them interested. He leaned into their familial values while negotiating, referencing kits in casual conversation and playing on their empathy. While the negotiation wasn't flawless, it was successful-- the lionesses agreed to keep to a certain range in the jungle and allow the clan cats their hunting grounds back. Cobrapaw was named Cobrathrall for his ability to engage with others.

AMBASSADOR

49 D.H.

After nine months of training as an Ambassador, Cobrathrall had finally graduated. Now a year and three months old, he held his head high with pride. He graduated months after most warrior apprentices did, but they didn't have to learn other languages or tact, did they? Cobrathrall has been serving his clan ever since, though he tends to be in and out of camp on solo excursions. Only his brother Mamba knows of the somewhat nihilistic aspects of his personality, seeing his sibling as his closest confidant.